Sired
by Livs Torres
Summary: Damon is confronted by Elena when she realizes the truth of their bond. Are her feelings for him real? Will Damon let her go?


He wasn't really sure what he was doing.

The night air around him was fresh and warm, smothering him like a hot blanket pulled out of the oven. Either that, or it was the massive amount of bourbon that he had just sloshed down his throat, coating his veins with fire. Despite the tingly sensations about his body, however, he felt empty, and broken.

"He was right, Ric."

Damon appreciatively eyed the crystal glass in his hand, and jiggled the contents around a bit with his hand before taking another mouthful of the liquid amber. Rolling his tongue over the velvety drink, he tipped his head back and swallowed, letting a loud sigh escape his lips.

"Stefan was right. Elena kept the blood-bag down today."

His brow furrowed at the memory of her smile when she realized what she had accomplished. He shuddered at the remembrance of her arms around his neck as she threw herself against him in joy, as if that had been a thing to celebrate. And it was. For her.

"So, Ric," he said while pouring himself another gratuitous amount of alcohol, "What am I supposed to do now? Since you left me all alone to babysit these... children, I'm running out of solutions, here."

He started pacing the soft ground beneath him, making the leaves and twigs crunching underneath his sneakers. He took another swig of his drink and set the cup on the tombstone in front of him. Leaning forward, he put his hands on the cold stone and bowed his head, allowing locks of his raven hair fall around his temples. Damon clenched his jaw and breathed out slowly, trying to calm down his rushing pulse.

"I miss you, man."

He gripped the tips of the tombstone harder and felt a strong urge to rip something apart.

"She's sired, Ric. I didn't believe it at first. I mean, how can this be? A vampire sire bond? When the hell has this ever happened before?"

Standing upright, he ran a hand across his chin and started pacing the cemetery's ground again. A brisk wind danced about the trees around him and he closed his eyes at the feeling of the cool air on his skin.

"It's her. Everything about her drives me crazy. Every time I'm around her I feel like my head is going to explode. I've never felt anything like it before. 'It's Stefan', she said. 'It's always going to be Stefan.' And it always has been. But then... things started changing when she became a vampire. I felt it. I felt her being drawn to me, more than she ever has been. She's less hesitant towards me now. She touches me... my hands, my face. And when Stefan told me that they had broken up... I wasn't the least bit sorry at all. I was happy. Glad. I felt hopeful for the first time. Hopeful that it wouldn't always be Stefan. That she would want me as much as I wanted her. And it seemed as if she did. And that night at the house happened... everything seemed to changed. I woke up to her next to me in my bed. My bed. And she was wearing my shirt. I had never felt so alive until that moment in time. And then..."

He growled, curling his fingers into fists at his sides. He wrapped them across the back of his neck and tilted his head upwards towards the night's sky. The stars were out. And they were beautiful. Sometimes when he looked into her eyes, he swore he could see them there too. Especially now - now that she was... a vampire. Sired."

"Damnit!"

Damon turned towards the nearest tree and put his hand through the base of its trunk, the wood there giving way to his knuckles. When he pulled his arm away, he saw the large hole that he had made.

Breathing heavily now, he turned towards Ric's tombstone again and gazed at it. His glass and bottle of bourbon were still on its top and he smirked at the memory of them drinking together at The Grill. His smirk soon faltered, however, and he dropped to his knees so that he was level with the stone.

"Come back, Ric," he pleaded. He heard his voice falter and struggled to maintain control of his emotions.

Moments passed and he placed his palms on either sides of Ric's name.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I don't know how to do this without you. You were truly... my best friend. I'm sorry I never told you that before."

Tears gathered behind Damon's thick lashes and he allowed them to spill down the rise of his cheeks and onto his parted lips.

"Ah, well. You're in a better place now, anyway. At least, I hope so. And you don't have to worry about me killing you anymore." He chuckled at his own attempt at a joke.

Holding back more tears, he learned even farther forward so that his head rested on the cool stone in front of him. It felt good. He hadn't even realized that he had broken out into a sweat. He was too warm.

God, he felt weak.

"You know, I've never been good at this - this whole... being emotional thing. It's just not in me. I'm not good, Ric. But you knew that, anyway. I'm no hero. I'm selfish and impulsive... and I want things too badly. I always want them too badly. I'm good at being the villain. I just... am. You better feel damn special, Ric." A hearty laugh escaped his belly. "Ah, I'm humiliated. Here I am, crying over your tombstone... when did I ever get so soft? If you were here, I'd think I'd snap your neck all over again just for making me feel this ridiculous." His lips pulled up into a sly smile.

"Good times."

Rising to his feet, he brushed off the dirt that was on his jeans and patted the tombstone in a friendly manner. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon and lifted it in respect before pressing it to his lips and taking a large amount of it into his mouth. Clasping his fingers around the glass so that he could make his way back home, Damon suddenly stiffened as he sensed someone behind him.

"Damnit, Elena," he muttered under his breath.

Allowing his mouth to split open into a smile, he set the glasses back on the tombstone and turned around to face her. She stood several yards away, and her eyes were narrowed with suspicion. They relaxed, however, when he saw that he was smiling, and inside he felt himself struggling to maintain the muscle contractions in his face. After a few more moments, he let his face return to normal.

"Well, hello there, Elena." He kept telling himself that nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Continue on as if everything was alright. He could do it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She took a few steps towards him, feeling worried. "Is everything okay?"

He smiled again. "Yeah. Just... making sure Ric isn't wreaking ghost havoc on The Other Side. You know how he can be."

Elena's eyes narrowed again when she spotted the alcohol behind him. When he saw what she was looking at, Damon's brow furrowed and he shrugged, his smile turning into a slight frown.

"Seriously, Elena. Everything is fine."

She pursed her lips.

"Wait, what are you doing here, anyway?" Damon's eyebrows lifted inquisitively.

"Uhm, well I was looking for you after Bonnie, Caroline, and I went to The Grill, and I figured you'd be there at the bar or something." She ran a hand through her hair and laughed. "But then, when I went home, you weren't there either and neither was Stefan, so I got nervous that something had happened."

Damon nearly winced when she called the boarding house her "home."

"And you found me here... how?"

She threw her hand in the air and shrugged. "Call it intuition. It was a lucky guess. I could just... feel that you were here."

Damon cleared his throat of the large lump that had formed there. She "felt" him? If he still had any doubts of her sire-bond to him, it was long gone.

"I... see. Well, hey. You found me." He smirked at her, but looked away when it fell. Turning away from her, he looked over at Alaric's tombstone again, grinding his teeth together in thought. Damon almost jumped when she felt her hand on his shoulder, pulling him towards her. When did she get so close all of a sudden?

"Damon..."

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, finally opening them as he let the air out.

"Elena, there's something I need to tell you."

A crease suddenly formed upon her forehead. "What?"

He shook off her hand and then took both of them in his, bringing them to his chest. Squeezing them, he looked into her eyes and gauged her reaction to his touch. Her lips parted and she looked up at him in wonder, as if she were in awe. Of course she was. She was sired. She was hardwired to feel this way.

Damon suddenly let them drop so that his arms hung by his sides. He turned his face away from her again, not being able to bear what he was about to say.

"Damon, what's going on?" Elena brought her hands back up to hold the back of his neck, and he was suddenly the one under her power.

"That's exactly what my question is, Elena. What is going on?"

"What do you mean?"

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Haven't you noticed anything different about what you feel for me now... as a vampire?"

She pressed her lips together again and tilted her head.

"Damon, listen... I've told you. The reason for me and Stefan… It's you."

Damon suddenly felt a flush of anger ripple through his body. She wasn't getting it. He would have to make her understand. He would have to be fair to her. She... deserved it.

Prying her hands away from his skin, he held them in front of her for her to see. She looked at him with hurt in her eyes. Damon smiled reassuringly.

"You need to listen to me, Elena. Why do you feel yourself drawn to me now? Now, that it was my blood that changed you? Why do you trust me and not Stefan when I've done so many things to hurt you? Things that have been against your very own will? Why do you feel the things you feel for me now, all of a sudden? I know they're strong feelings, too. Don't try to deny that. I can see it in your eyes." He held her gaze while she said this.

She yanked her hands away from him. "What are you saying, Damon?"

Moments passed in long silence, the only audible sounds coming from the wildlife of the woods around them.

And yet, he held her eyes still.

"You... are sired to me, Elena."

She said nothing as her face went blank.

Damon turned his back on her and touched Ric's tombstone once more as if it comforted him. "I didn't think it was possible. Not at first. Stefan was the one to figure it out. Well... him and Caroline. They suggested that I encourage you to drink from a blood-bag and see if you could keep it down. And you did. So, I guess it's true. But how messed up is that? Just when I thought that you had feelings for me... this."

When she said nothing, he continued further still. "But, I get it, Elena. It's Stefan. It's always going to be Stefan. I'm no good for you, anyway. We just need to find a way to break the bond so you can-"

"So you can do what, Damon? Fix me?"

He whipped around to find her there standing before him, tears streaming down her face like waterfalls.

"You want to fix me too..."

"Elena..."

She looked away from him and folded her arms, shaking her head as he called out her name.

"God. I am so tired of everyone trying to fix me!" Her voice rose and grew higher as more tears flooded down her face.

"No, Elena. I'm not trying to fix you-"

"Don't do that, Damon." A low growl erupted from her chest before her expression fell again. "Why, you? Why are you trying to fix me too? Why can no one accept me for who I am now? I don't understand what I'm doing wrong!" She choked back a sob.

So fast his outline blurred, he whizzed to her side and grabbed her face in her hands, forcing her to look at him.

"I am not trying to fix you, Elena. I... want things to be real. I don't want you to feel obligated to do what I ask or feel how I feel."

She pushed him away and he allowed her to, trying not to let the anguish in his face betray him. He felt like he was dying inside. Things weren't supposed to happen this way!

"Elena."

She looked up at him with a defiant look on her face. "I'm not feeling this way because I'm sired to you, Damon. Tell me you don't want me to feel this way. About you, I mean."

"What? No!" He looked horrified. If she truly was sired, he'd lose her forever if he did this.

"Do, it, Damon."

"No."

"Why not? Are you scared that I might actually feel something for you, Damon? Is that really so terrifying for you?"

He gritted his teeth. "It's because you're sired to me, Elena."

She inched closer to him so that he had to look down into her eyes.

"No, it's not."

His breathing sped up at how close their bodies there. "I want this... whatever this is, to be real. I refuse to lose you but I am not taking advantage of your...allegiance to me."

"Allegiance? Is that how you think of it now? Is that how you think of me now? As your little slave?"

"Elena! Don't you dare say that. I would never... you are not that."

"Then, why are you so mad, Damon?"

"I'm mad at you because I love you!"

She blankly looked up into his eyes.

"It's not because I'm sired to you, Damon... even if I am." She sighed.

He tilted her chin up and brushed away the new tears that stained her cheeks.

"Then tell me, Elena. The truth."

"I think you know the truth, Damon."

"I want you to be sure that your feelings for me are real, Elena."

He lowered his head and brushed his lips across her forehead before leaving her side to gather his glass and bottle of bourbon when suddenly, she grabbed him by the arm and swung him around so that she was able to pull his head down for a kiss. He immediately stiffened, unsure as to what she was doing. When he didn't kiss her back, she broke away from him and looked him angrily in the eyes.

"You didn't order me to do that, Damon."

His lips parted in awe and the sound of shattering glass could be heard as he grabbed her by the neck and pulled her into him as he renewed the kiss. She twined her hands in his hair, ruffling it while he wound his arms around her waist as tight as he could, finally realizing that it wasn't because of the bond. It was because of her.

It was because of Elena.


End file.
